Trading places: All aboard for Chile

There's still time to sign up for a sales export mission to Santiago.

Global Tampa Bay — formerly known as the Tampa Bay Export Alliance — has lined up a sales export mission to Santiago, Chile, in late October and spots for the trip remain available.

The trip continues the trade group’s push for Tampa Bay area companies to tap into the Latin American market. In April, Global Tampa Bay led a similar sales export mission to Mexico City that, according to a press release, yielded about $35.3 million in projected future sales and economic activity for local businesses.

The Oct. 22-25 trip to Santiago will be the group’s second foray into Chile, which it touts as a country with open-market policies, zero tariffs, stable democratic government, solid business practices and low corruption. Meetings with potential customers will be set up through the U.S. government’s Gold Key program, a matchmaking service for export-ready companies.

Chile, according to the release, was Florida’s third largest merchandise export in 2017, with the Sunshine State representing about 27% of Chile’s total U.S. imports. During the first five months of 2018, U.S. exports to Chile are up 13% over the same period last year. “Chile is a significant trade partner for our region,” adds Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. President and CEO Craig Richard in the release.

Interested companies need to register for the trip by Sept. 3. More information is available at globaltampabay.com.